


Billie Baby

by rationalbookworm



Series: Days Of Wonder [1]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M, If you're curious go read that, Rewritten Daughters Of Time, Sorry Not Sorry, but you don't need to to understand this, first in a series, hopefully, i make plans but i don't always finish them, rewriting an old story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24606613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rationalbookworm/pseuds/rationalbookworm
Summary: Sarah Jane was ready to go on adventures. She was not ready to find her niece abandoned at her house. But like hell was she going to leave her behind.Rewriting of my Daughters of Time series. Has very little to do with that except the OCs.
Series: Days Of Wonder [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1778851
Kudos: 2





	1. Introduction: Little Telepath

**Author's Note:**

> So, after posting/rereading Daughters of Time I realized I really loved those characters, even if I didn't love all of my rushed storylines from back then. So I started writing it again. I don't know how long I will be into this, even though I, once again, have several stories planned for this new series. Hopefully I won't loose interest too quickly, but I promise nothing.

The television was on. Saturday morning cartoons were singing across the screen and a bowl of Cocoa Pebbles was abandoned on the coffee table. Considering their companion was a single woman with no children and had not been home for some time, the Professor found it a little strange. He frowned in thought as the Doctor and Sarah Jane exited the TARDIS behind him, chattering happily. They passed by the living room without a glance and the Professor turned to follow. He paused again when he noticed the curtain appeared rather lumpy on the right side. With a soft hum of thought, he moved to the side of the door, just out of sight, and waited. A moment later a small head of dark curls peeked out from behind the curtain. Wide brown eyes scanned the room before the little girl risked stepping out of her hiding spot.

Silently, he moved behind her and dropped a heavy but gently hand on her shoulder. She jumped in surprise and tried to twist away. He winced as something sharply jabbed at his mental shields, very nearly pulling them down. His eyes widened as another attack scratched at his shields as the girl continued to struggle. The direction of attack most definitely came from the girl, but how was that possible? No one in this century should be able to do that. Gently he prodded back with his mind and the girl froze, staring up at him with wide eyes. He sank to his knees in front of her, his hand drifting from her shoulder to her hand to keep her from running off.

“ _Hello_ ,” he mentally pushed into her mind.

It took a while, but she managed a shaky, “ _Hi_ ,” back.

He smiled (a first in this body. He didn’t think he ever had a body more inclined to sarcasm and grouchiness before) and spoke aloud this time, “What’s your name?”

“Billie Jean,” she whispered.

“And what are you doing here, Billie Jean?”

“My mom dropped me off,” her voice was steadier, harder. He almost wanted the soft spoken shyness back. “But Aunt Sarah wasn’t here, so I got the key from the frog and came in to wait.”

He frowned, “And when was this?”

“Yesterday,” she was back to whispering.

He sighed as he rose. There was a lot he could say about the carelessness of leaving a child on a doorstep without even checking if anyone was home, but he didn’t want to scare the girl. Nonetheless, it would be best to inform Sarah Jane of this development.

“Come along. Sarah Jane is in the kitchen with my brother, I believe. I’m sure she will be happy to see you safe.”

She grinned and refused to let go of his hand as he led her down the hall where he heard voices. Sure enough, his brother was leaning back in a chair at the small round table, long scarf dragging on the floor, while Sarah Jane was shuffling around the kitchen putting together a light lunch. He cleared his throat to gain their attention. The Doctor’s chair slammed to the ground and Sarah Jane did a double take.

“Billie Jean Carter! What are you doing here?”

Billie Jean shrunk back into his side at the exclamation, “Mom dropped me off yesterday. You weren’t home.”

Sarah Jane’s face crumpled as she rushed forward to lift her niece into a bear hug, “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I was traveling with some friends. I didn’t think she’d do something like that while I was gone.”

“It’s okay,” the small voice was muffled against the older woman’s shoulder.

The Professor sat beside his brother, giving the humans some privacy as he mentally knocked against his brother’s shields.

“ _Sigma_ ,” the Doctor’s voice drifted in, “ _What is it?_ ”

“ _I found something quite interesting when I found Billie Jean. Reach out and touch her mind. Gently._ ”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow but did as he asked. His eyes widened comically when he found what the Professor had.

“ _But…How is that possible?_ ”

“ _It shouldn’t be. We’ll have to run some tests_.”

The Doctor winced, “ _Sarah Jane won’t like that_.”

The Professor ignored him. Billie Jean glanced over her shoulder at him as she rushed out of the room. Sarah Jane sighed and sat at the table with them, running a tired hand down her face.

“I don’t think I can join you guys anymore,” she said. “I don’t know when my sister will be back and it’ll be too dangerous for Billie on the TARDIS.”

“Sarah Jane,” the Professor interrupted, deciding to be blunt, “Has Billie Jean ever said anything strange? Something about hearing voices? Headaches?”

She frowned at him, “How do you know that?”

“When I found her in the living room, I startled her and her mind lashed out to protect herself. I believe she has some latent telepathic abilities. Stronger than should be possible for this time. I would like to run some tests to find out how and why.”

“Will they hurt her?” her voice was strained, shoulders tense.

“Not at all,” the Doctor cut in, reaching out to squeeze the human’s hand. “She’ll be perfectly safe. But it’s best if we run the tests. We may even be able to help her control it so she won’t have headaches anymore. She’ll be able to block people out better. Though she’ll have to stay with us on the TARDIS for a bit for us to do that. Along with you, of course!”

Sarah Jane stared down the hall while she thought. Finally, she nodded, “Okay. But we’ll have to wait to leave. I need to find out what my sister’s plan is. And where my nephew is.”

* * *

It was fairly simple to corral Billie onto the TARDIS while her aunt made some phone calls. The girl was insatiably curious about everything they passed and the Professor was patient in explaining things as simply as he could so the nine year old would understand. The Doctor followed at short distance, watching the young human tug on the multi-colored coat his brother favored this regeneration. He had never seen his brother bend to someone’s will so easily, especially not in this abrasive incarnation. Yet the young child seemed to already have him wrapped around her finger. It was a marvel, truly, but they had greater things to worry about.

The medbay was clean and clinical, and intimidating to Billie Jean who shuffled closer to the Professor as they moved to the closest cot. Sigma gently lifted the girl onto the cot and rubbed a hand on her back soothingly. The Doctor moved to the scanner beside the bed and moved it into position.

“Just lie back,” the older Time Lord instructed, “It won’t hurt at all.”

The Doctor smiled encouragingly and moved the machine over her head. Her eyes were wide and her hand gripped tightly to the Professor’s as the scans were being performed, but she stayed perfectly still. Once it was done, Sigma was quick to move the machine away again and help the girl sit up.

“You did wonderfully, my dear,” he said.

“That’s it?” she wondered.

“That’s it. Now we just need to wait for the results.”

“Okay,” her eyes drifted around the room, much more relaxed now that she didn’t have anything pointed at her. She looked up at the ceiling blinking before she giggled.

“What is it?” the Doctor grinned, eyes flicking between her and the monitor.

“Your ship’s funny.”

His neck almost snapped he turned back to her so fast, “You can hear her?”

“Uh huh. Am I not supposed to?”

“No no,” the Professor waved his brother back to work. “It’s alright. She’s telepathic too, so it makes sense that she can talk to you.”

She grinned at the ceiling again, “I think she likes me.”

“I’m sure she does,” he chuckled.

A beep alerted them to the results being completed. The Doctor scanned it before allowing his brother to see. A large grin spread across his face as he ruffled the girl’s hair to make her laugh, “Nothing to worry about. You’re perfectly healthy. And we’ll be able to help you block out any unwanted voices.”

“Really,” she grinned back.

The Professor hummed, “Easily. Come. Let’s go talk to your aunt.”

They found Sarah Jane leaning against her kitchen counter, scowling at her phone.

“Aunt Sarah?”

She looked up, “Everything alright?”

“Perfect,” the Professor answered. “We’ll be able to help.”

A weak smile was his reply. Before he could ask, Sarah Jane sent Billie Jean off to the living room to watch cartoons while they spoke. Once she was sure the girl was out of earshot she explained how her sister had left town along with her nephew. There was apparently no plan on returning for her daughter. Sarah Jane was going to file for custody once she explained the situation to her niece. She was worried about how the girl was going to take the news. Billie Jean had never gotten along with her mother but had looked up to her brother greatly.

Sarah Jane sighed as she slumped into a dining chair, “But what about Billie? What did you find?”

The Time Lords shared a look before the Doctor turned back to her, “First, what do you know about Billie’s father?”

“Nothing. My sister had a one night stand and Billie was the result. She never let her forget it either. Why?”

“Well, it appears her ability was inherited from him. In the future, some human’s genes mutate into what are called Human-Plus. Sometimes Human-Pluses can develop abilities. Billie’s DNA shows she is a Human-Plus, thus allowing her to develop telepathy. The only way for that to happen is if her father was a time traveler from the future.”

She nodded, “And you’ll help her.”

“Of course,” the Professor scowled at her.

“I’ll have to get custody of her first. I won’t risk leaving until then.”

The Time Lords agreed. They would skip ahead to when the adoption would go through.


	2. Black Market: Shopping Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I'm finally fairly happy with how I split the chapters. I'm sorry for how much this one jumps perspective, but there was some things I just really had to get from specific people's POV. I'll try not to do that in the future.

The Professor paced the TARDIS’ halls, his mind reeling through the last conversations he’d had with Theta and Sarah Jane. The Doctor had been rambling, as was his wont, and had mentioned how easily the elder Time Lord caved to Billie’s doe eyes. He had scoffed at the time, but the more he thought about it, he realized it was true. In less than a week’s time Billie Jean had become his greatest weakness and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. It wasn’t like he could simply drop her and her aunt off somewhere. And then Sarah Jane had asked a question that had him frowning deeper still.

“Is there a way for us to find Billie’s father? I worry about what would happen if we just stumbled across him. How many humans time travel in the future, anyway?”

The answer to the latter question was very few. Fewer still that weren’t part of the Time Agency. Most likely, Billie’s father had been a Time Agent that either was on leave or leaving his post to have fun. If that were true, it was imperative they find the man, if only to avoid him. Time Agents were strictly forbidden from fornication outside of their time. If they did it could lead to exactly what happened. A little girl with abilities no one around her could understand. People could begin to fear her, lock her up, or worse.

He sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. Thinking of what ifs wasn’t going to help anyone. Theta had already begun running searches for signs of Time Travel activity around the time Billie would have been conceived. They could do nothing but wait.

And that allowed his mind to slip back to his first dilemma. When he allowed himself to be brutally honest, he knew exactly why he was so drawn to the young girl, why she had such a sway over him. But he couldn’t admit it. She was too young to form any sort of telepathic bond. Even a Mentor Bond could overpower her when she didn’t have control over her abilities. For now, it was best to not linger on their connection.

His wandering had led him to the console room where he found the Doctor swearing at a lump of twisted metal on the floor.

“What happened?”

Theta pouted from his sprawled position, “No idea. I was trying to reroute the main tachyon energy compensator to the front sonic tachyon maintenance assembly circuit when the connection blew.” The twisted metal sparked as he spoke. “We’ll have to make a stop.”

The Professor hummed in agreement and moved to the console to check their location. “Liluri II is not far. We can stop there and collect what we need. Sarah Jane and Billie can explore the markets.”

“Oh!” the Doctor bounced to his feet to look over his shoulder, “You think they still have that stall that sells Ecren Jelly Babies? Not as good as Earth’s but…”

The Professor scowled, “No more of those. We hardly need two children running around.”

The younger brother looked offended but was prevented from arguing by the sound of small feet running down the corridor. Billie came to a stop beside the Time Lords, grinning up at them. Sarah Jane followed at a more sedate pace, Billie’s jacket draped over her arm.

“Where to, Doctor?” she asked, helping her niece into the garment.

As the Doctor explained the situation, Billie used the edge of the console to stretch high enough to see the monitor. With a chuckle, Sigma lifted her so she could sit on the console instead.

“Would you like to set the coordinates?” he asked.

He received another bright smile, “Yeah!”

* * *

The open air markets of Liluri II were as busy as ever. Aliens of all sorts were shoulder to shoulder, wading through the crowds to see the different wares. Children zipped through the legs, laughing and tripping the adults who shouted after them. Spices filled the air from the food district while the animal district had most hurrying passed with cloths covering their noses. Sellers called out over the thrum of voices, holding up fabrics and jewelry, and boasting the best prices.

N’Gura weaved expertly through the people, one hand resting on the hilt of her blade. There was no reason to believe suspicion, but she had to be careful. Her brothers certainly weren’t. If those idiots got caught, she would have to be ready to run. She refused to return to that hell hole ever again.

Her family’s stall came into view as she rounded a corner and she found Beti hunched over the back work bench. Otherwise, the stall was deserted. Eyes slid past it from the clothiers on their left to the bookbinders on their right. No children made their parents stop to look at the little gadgets and whittled toys though she spotted several passing by. Silently, she slipped behind her brother and looked over his shoulder. He was carefully carving out the antlers on a toy klessin, one of the endangered animals on their home planet.

“Beti,” she snapped, making him jump. The table rattled as he pushed to his feet. “Where’s N’Tencti?”

“I don’t know,” Beti hunched his shoulders, the toe of his boot kicking the ground.

She rolled her eyes, “He’s supposed to watch the shop. How are we supposed to get people to buy if he’s out chasing tail?”

Beti hunched even more, seeming trying to disappear from before his sister. N’Gura sighed and waved him back to his table, “I’ll handle it.”

Beti quickly scooped up his things and moved further into the tent, away from his sister’s sight. Her eyes narrowed as yet another family passed without even looking at their toys. That just wouldn’t do.

* * *

Billie’s eyes were wide as she walked beside Aunt Sarah, their hands clasped tightly to keep together. The colors and sounds and smells were all so overwhelming. She didn’t know where to look first. Aunt Sarah had promised she would be able to pick something out to bring home as a souvenir, but with all the choices spread out in front of her how was she supposed to ever choose?

A squeeze to her hand had her turning to the older human. “How about we find something to eat while we look around?” Aunt Sarah asked.

With a nod, they set out, following their noses to a food stall nearby. The being behind the counter reminded Billie of an octopus. Several long arms moved about serving foods to multiple people at once. She smiled when she was handed what appeared to be a hotdog, though she didn’t ask what sort of meat was in it. Even on Earth it was better not to know. Aunt Sarah paid with the credit stick the Doctor had given them and they moved off again, away from the food stalls.

The tents became brighter and shouting became more prevalent as they walked. When Billie spotted more children running around she assumed they were in a good area to find something she would want. A few book sellers caught her eye, but the Professor had already promised she could take a few books from the TARDIS home. She had very little interest in jewelry and clothing wasn’t a good souvenir in her mind.

“Hello there,” a voice called out.

Billie turned to see a tall slim alien with brownish orange skin and cropped dark hair. Earrings lined from the top of their small ears to the lobe. Their face was squashed like a pug’s and distorted weirdly when they smiled. A thin shirt covered their body from wrist to neck and was tucked into fitted trousers. Sturdy boots could be seen under the table they stood behind. Said table was littered with various toys made from wood and metal.

Aunt Sarah had paused to look at some clothes at the stall next door and didn’t notice when Billie slowly approached the table. Her eyes caught on the animal figurines made from smooth wood. She didn’t recognize a single one. Whoever had made these had obviously never been to Earth.

“Pretty toy for a pretty little girl,” a deep voice said in her ear. Billie scrambled away, heart pounding as she twisted to see another alien resembling the one that had called her over. His grin twisted strangely as he held out a doll.

“N’Tencti!” the one behind the counter snapped. “Where have you been?”

N’Tencti stood to their full height, frowning at the shorter alien as he tossed the doll on the table, “I got hungry.”

Yellow eyes narrowed, “Sure you were. Get back and help Beti.”

They tsked but moved to do as they were told.

“I’m sorry for my brother,” the first alien sighed.

Billie stepped closer again, eyes going back to the animals. Another alien came forward holding another figurine in their large hands. Though they were taller and broader than the other two, their smile was softer as he held out the moose like creature to Billie. She smiled at the strange animal and held it close to examine it, admiring the large bat wings sprouting from its shoulders and the shiny black glass eyes.

“Mama, look!” she called, not realizing her slip until Aunt Sarah had joined her, eyes misty. She bit her lip, hoping she hadn’t done something wrong, until Aunt Sarah bent down to pull her into a tight hug.

“Have you picked something?” she asked softly with a smile.

Billie nodded and held up the wooden animal, “Isn’t this cool?”

“Very. How much?” she turned to the alien who happily told her the price.

Transaction complete, Aunt Sarah ushered Billie back down the way they came. They had passed the animal district earlier but had left it for after they shopped. Now would be a good a time as any to let Billie have her fill of fuzzy animals before the Time Lords found them.

* * *

Sarah Jane sat on the bench outside of the small petting zoo one of the stalls had set up. The moment her eye caught the sign she knew Billie would love it. Sure enough, the girl was currently cuddling what looked like a sheep-cat hybrid while other animals scurried around her with other children. The new wooden figure was kept safely in the girl’s jacket pocket where the sheep-cat couldn’t chew on it like it had another kid’s toy.

A sad smile formed on the older woman’s lips as she thought about earlier. A part of her always knew Billie saw her as a mother figure, more so than her actual mother. But she had never thought it went that far. She didn’t mind of course. Her heart warmed at the thought of being Billie’s mother, but there were so many complications that came with it. Not to mention the Doctor currently trying to locate Billie’s father. She couldn’t allow herself to think of adopting her when they had such a shaky idea of the future. For now, the temporary custody she had been granted would have to be enough. Once they returned to Earth for Billie’s schooling, they could sit down and talk about it. With a better plan in mind, Sarah Jane relaxed enough to open the book she had bought herself.

Some time later, Sarah Jane glanced up again to check on her charge, only to frown. Billie was no longer with the animals she had originally gravitated toward. She quickly stood from her seat, tucking her book away, to look for the wayward child. She had probably simply run after another animal and was on the far side of the pen.

“Lilith! Lilith you come here!” a voice screeched. Sarah Jane looked to the plump red skinned alien yelling frantically while scanning the petting zoo. “Lilith!”

“Has anyone seen Tiboe? He was just here! Tiboe!”

“Horwed this isn’t funny!”

“Al! Ally where are you?!”

Sarah Jane’s heart sank, the color draining from her face, “Billie!”


	3. Black Market: The Children

Billie laughed as she followed the animal she had been cuddling towards the back of the pen. Other children were gathered there, waiting patiently for the man running the zoo to hand out food for the animals. A girl with dark red skin wearing a bright summer dress stood to one side, playing with a familiar wooden figurine. With a grin Billie joined her, pulling her own toy out of her pocket.

“Hi,” the girl laughed. “I’m Lilith.”

“Billie. Do you know what these are called?” she held up her toy. “The animal I mean.”

“They’re klessin. I don’t know from where but the lady at the shop said they’re endangered.”

Billie hummed in thought, gently stroking her toy, “You wanna feed some of the animals with me?”

“Sure,” the girl nodded quickly got in line.

She smiled as she followed, happy to find a friend, even just for today. At home it was hard for her to find friends. Most thought she was weird. Especially when she would accidentally answer one of their thoughts. It was safer not to try. It was okay though, she still had her brother Greg. But he was older and didn’t want to spend all of his time with his baby sister.

They reached the front of the line and gathered their bags of feed. Lilith led the way to some of the smaller animals that tended to run from kids in fear. The two girls sat on the ground and patiently waited for the furry guys to come to them, giggling when whiskers and lips tickled their fingers.

“Ow!” Lilith exclaimed.

Billie looked over, ready to see blood from one of the creatures nipping a little too hard. Instead the girl was frowning at the wooden klessin in her lap. The once black eyes were shining a bright red that nearly matched the girl’s skin. Billie quickly pulled out her own toy, only to drop it immediately when it burned her skin.

“What-” a hand clamping over her mouth cut her off. Panicked, Billie kicked out at the person, screaming as loud as she could. Her eyes darted around hoping to find anyone looking their way. There were plenty of adults in the area, and yet not one noticed as Billie, Lilith and a couple other children were pulled out of the pens, though several were fighting.

Billie tried to scream again, began to fumble with her mental shields in hope that the Professor was nearby. But before she could, something sharp pinched her neck and with one last cry, everything went dark.

* * *

“N’Tencti, you idiot! I told you to wait!”

“I got ‘em here, didn’t I?!”

“You grabbed all of them at once! You think no one’s gonna notice a bunch of kids missing!”

“Well then we better leave, huh!”

Billie scrunched her face as pain laced through her head. She didn’t know what was happening, but if those people kept yelling she was gonna throw up. A quiet whimper seemed to break up the fight as someone stomped closer.

“Quiet you nitwit!” a deep voice growled followed by the clang of metal hitting metal. A couple voices cried in alarm then muffled.

“Leave ‘em be, N’Tencti! Go help Beti take down the stall. We need to leave quickly before the police realize all the kids had our toys.”

The deep voice grumbled as it moved off. A door slammed and silence settled. The muffled cries got louder now that they were seemingly alone. Billie slowly blinked her eyes open, wincing at the dim light that hung near her head. With a groan she twisted away, only to run into vertical metal bars. Her eyes watered when she opened them more, trying to adjust quickly, only to freeze at what she found.

She was in a cage. The cramped space forced her to curl into a ball and duck her head when sitting up. She knew she was rather small for her age, yet the cage made her feel like a giant. Glancing around, she found other cages stacked around hers with children of various ages cowering and crying. It was mostly dark except for the one lamp that allowed Billie to see the plain wooden door across the room. Otherwise the room seemed empty.

“Billie,” a soft voice whimpered.

She turned to see Lilith pressed against the bars of the cage next to her. She leaned back to rest closer to the other girl, reaching out to take the small red hand.

“I’m scared.”

Billie nodded, a lump forming in her throat. Taking a deep breath she tried to plan out what to do. The Professor had said she was powerful enough to reach long distances with her mind but it would take practice. She didn’t want to hurt anyone by accidentally ripping through their mind while she was looking for someone. But she was desperate. He would understand, right?

Before she could make up her mind, the door banged open again. The alien from the toy stall, the one that had offered her a doll had returned. A futuristic camera hung from around their neck. Billie shuddered at what they could be planning, curling into a tighter ball against the bars. Lilith’s hand strangled hers as the red girl whimpered again. The alien set up a table beside the door and hung another lantern so that area was more visible. Then they turned to the cages, the children scrambling to press as far away from them as they could.

“C’mon,” the alien growled, opening one of the cages to drag out what appeared to be a human boy of five. He lifted him onto the table and told him to sit still. “Need to get a good picture of ya. No one wants to buy an ugly kid.”

Billie’s eyes watered at the gruff words. _Buy?_ They were selling kids? She watched as the alien took a rag from his back pocket and roughly scrubbed the boy’s face clean. The boy cried harder at the treatment until the alien began to growl again.

“Shut. Up. You don’t stop and I’ll have to gag ya.”

The boy sobbed and shook, crying for his parents.

With a snarl, the alien threw his arm out, his hand connecting hard to the boy’s face. The boy tumbled off the table from the force and a sickening crack sounded when his head met the concrete floor. The other children were truly panicking now. Sobs and screams for help echoing around the room. Billie slammed her eyes closed, even as she clutched Lilith as close as the bars between them allowed. Her breathing came in quick burst through her chest and her heart pounded in her ears. There was no way she would calm enough to call the Professor now.

“DAMMIT N’TENCTI! NOW WE’RE DOWN A BRAT!” the other alien’s voice rattled her, making her gasp in fear. “Clean this shit up! Beti can take the pictures when we get back to the ship!”

She listened to the cries of the children, the scrapes and stomps of the alien cleaning, and the pounding in her ears, until finally the door closed again and they were left alone. When she opened her eyes, Lilith was huddled close, shivering and pale. Her eyes trained on a spot across the room. Billie looked around. There was a dark spot on the cement where the boy had fallen, but no boy.


	4. Black Market: For Sale

Sarah Jane clutched the little wooden toy close to her chest, fighting the tears that burned behind her eyes. Other parents were around her, bawling and screaming, demanding the police bring them their children. A part inside her was joining in, raging against the world that had taken her niece – her daughter. What was worse than the police could find nothing, the Time Lords were still MIA. They could easily find Billie if they were here, but they were still off doing their own shopping and she had no way to contact them.

A hand clamped on her shoulder startled her. She spun to find the Doctor looking grim. The Professor pushed passed them to growl demands at the officers. A sob broke free as the Doctor pulled her into a tight hug.

“Don’t worry, Sarah. We’ll find her.”

Long minutes of bawling into the alien’s scarf later, Sarah Jane turned to find the Professor. She frowned when she failed to see his curly mop of blonde hair. He wasn’t a particularly tall man, but the way he carried himself made him impossible to miss. Now he seemed to have disappeared entirely.

“Come along, Sarah,” the Doctor urged her away from the crowds. “We need to get to the TARDIS. Professor is already heading in Billie’s direction but He’ll be needing help to get all the children out safely.”

Sarah Jane nodded, her teeth clenched as they marched away. She had had a good cry, but Billie still needed her. Any more break downs would have to wait until after her little girl was safe. She followed the Doctor through the winding stalls at a brisk pace until the TARDIS loomed into view. They clambered in and the Time Lord went straight to work at the console. There was little she could do to help at the moment, so instead Sarah Jane hurried to Billie’s room. When they found the girl, she would no doubt be distressed and would need some sort of comfort. Something familiar.

The little toy klessin was discarded on the dresser. Sarah Jane doubted it would be wanted after the experience she had getting it. They’d have to take another shopping trip for a new souvenir. Perhaps something on Earth, but in the past. Or future. The past might be too dangerous.

She shook her head, focusing her thoughts. The teddy bear she had given Billie a few birthdays ago lay in the tangled sheets where Billie slept with it. Perfect. Sarah Jane snatched it up and hurried back to the console room in time to see the Doctor throw a lever. The TARDIS made a loud pop as it began to take off. The Doctor frowned at the column but stayed where he was.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, stumbling to the control panel.

“Nothing. She’s just upset with me.” His words were punctuated with sparks flying off the controls towards his fingers. He yanked them back with a yelp and a pout.

Sarah Jane frowned. It had been difficult for her mind to wrap around the idea of a sentient ship, but then again, her daughter was telepathic so why not an alien space ship as well?

“Upset?”

“That I lost Billie.”

“It was my fault,” her voice cracked. “I should have been paying attention.”

The Doctor shook his head, “There was a low level telepathic field around the petting zoo. Someone set it up so any nearby adults would feel the need to look away.”

Her hand curled around the bear she still held, “Where are we going?”

“There’s an unauthorized ship park not far from the market. The police were talking about it, but by the time they get organized it’ll be too late.”

They landed with a thump and Sarah Jane hurried out the door, the Doctor a step behind her. A large cargo ship was facing away from them, the back ramp open for easy loading. Large boxes covered in tarps were packed into the cargo hold and held down with ropes. It appeared deserted, though Sarah Jane was hardly going to call out. Something in her gut told her those boxes were not storing ship parts.

“Hello there,” the Doctor’s cheerful voice startled her. She turned to see him waving down a broad, tall alien who stood frozen to the side of the ship.

“Oh no,” she whispered, her stomach plummeting. She knew him. The broad pug faced alien from the toy stall. The one who made Billie’s toy. She whispered as much to the Doctor, hoping the alien didn’t recognize her as well.

“You here for the…” the alien trailed off, glancing nervously at the ship.

“Yes, yes,” the Doctor encouraged. “We’re just here to see your, ah, wares.”

They shifted on their feet, “N’Gura’s not here right now.”

“That’s alright. I’m sure you can show us around. We just wanted a peek.”

“Oh,” the pug face wrinkled more when they furrowed their brow, “I guess.”

“Marvelous! After you!”

The alien hesitated for one second more before shuffling into the aircraft. The two time travelers followed deep into the ship to where a few animal cages, also covered with tarps were not yet tied down. Sarah Jane had to bite back a gasp when the tarp was carefully folded back. A small figure was huddled in the corner of the cage, body covered in tan fur wearing nothing but a loincloth. The child scurried away from them, pressing back against the bars. Wide fearful eyes watched their every move.

“How old is he?” the Doctor was deadly quiet.

The alien shrugged, “You want to see older?”

The Time Lord frowned, “No. Not right now. When did you say N’Gura was returning?”

“Soon,” they said, covering the cage once more. “She and N’Tencti are bringing more.”

“Right. We’ll wait in our ship. If you don’t mind.”

Sarah Jane stayed silent as she followed the Doctor back to the TARDIS. She was afraid if she opened her mouth she may just scream. Once they were safely behind the false wooden doors, tears freely rolled down her cheeks. How many children were suffering at those people’s hands right now?

“Doctor,” she croaked, following him to the little sitting area connected to the console room. “What are…why do they…?”

“They’re selling them,” the Doctor hung his head in his hands. “They’re selling those children to wealthy families who want kids but don’t want to go through the adoption process. Too much hassle.”

Sarah Jane cried.


End file.
